Survey: 85% of American Adults Own a Cellphone

Updated at 3:33 am, November 26th, 2012

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Cellphone use continues to grow and shows no signs of slowing down, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center Internet and American Life project.

The project, which has been tracking cellphone use since 2007, reports that 85 percent of American adults own a cellphone, and almost half of them have a smartphone.

The report finds that younger adults, individuals with higher levels of education, and those living in households that have annual earnings of $75,000 or more are more likely than others to have performed various cellphone activities such as taking photos, texting, accessing the Internet, recording video, emailing, downloading apps and mobile banking.

Here are more details on how Americans are using their phones:

More than 81 percent of men and women use their phone to take photos.

More than 80 percent of men and women use their phone to send or receive text messages. More than 97 percent of young adults, ages 18-29, text, compared to just 34 percent of cellphone owners over the age of 65.

More than 56 percent of men and women use their phone to access the Internet. Fifty-two percent of individuals earning less than $30,000 do so, compared to 71 percent of those earning more than $75,000 annually.

Just about half of all cellphone owners use their devices to send or receive email. Twenty-four percent of respondents with no high school diploma send email via their phone, compared to 63 percent with a college degree.

About 43 percent of men and women use their phones to record video. Sixty-eight percent of young adults, ages 18-29, do so, compared to just 9 percent of users over the age of 65.

Approximately 43 percent of all cellphone owners have downloaded an app to their phone. Once again, younger adults, those with higher incomes and individuals with college degrees are more likely to download apps.

The report involved two Pew Internet tracking surveys involving more than 5,500 respondents.